VaxTrac gets expansion capital from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for biometric vaccine registry program

VaxTrac has announced a recent investment of $695,341 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which it says will be used to support ongoing expansion of its biometric vaccine registry programs in Benin, West Africa.

According to the company, the new investment will enable new health centers to receive the resources and training necessary to effectively integrate the VaxTrac system into their vaccination program with the goal of improving record-keeping practices, reducing waste and improving schedule adherence, especially for children under five.

The VaxTrac system is a suite of data collection and analysis tools tailored specifically for immunization programs in developing countries. It uses a technology portfolio comprised of laptops, tablets and mobile phones to collect data and fingerprint scanners to accurately identify patients. This serves to overcome the primary driver of the current inefficiency in the vaccine delivery system: a lack of information.

In addition to the geographic expansion, VaxTrac will also lead an effort in Benin to re-evaluate the vaccine information management system from a more holistic perspective, integrating the previously segregated functions of health records, population statistics, stock management, and cold chain performance monitoring. This activity will also identify the broad array of stakeholders throughout the vaccination process and how they interact with system data. Underlying all of these activities is the motivation that technology can—when thoughtfully applied in combination with a thorough understanding of the unique user requirements of community health workers—greatly facilitate efficiency and effectiveness improvements in the vaccine delivery system.

Reported previously, Lumidigm and Fulcrum Biometrics recently announced that they are providing fingerprint sensing technology and hardware to the VaxTrac program. 

Article Topics

fingerprint  |  investment  |  registration  |  vaccinations  |  VaxTrac